Haru no Hana
by pinksnail
Summary: When Lucy's mother dies in a car accident, she moves away from Magnolia. 10 years later she returns and will struggle to bring all her childhood friends back together again. But with Lucy so focused on others, she won't pay attention to her own problems...
1. Sakura o Kensaku

**Haru no Hana**

**They were all childhood friends. They made up a group called Fairy Tail. They were always together. But when Lucy's mother dies in a car accident, she moves away from Magnolia. Without Lucy the members of Fairy Tail begin to drift apart. When Lucy returns, in her teenage years, she will struggle to bring them together again.**

**This fanfic is inspired by the anime, AnoHana. Both AnoHana and Fairy Tail are two of my favourite animes out there. AnoHana gave me a new perspective on life and I thought the ending was beautiful. It was the first time I cried so much not for an injury. I was sobbing. And well... Fairy Tail... What can I say? I've laughed, I've cried... I've been egging on the characters in front of the screen. Both are masterpieces and in my opinion, deserve a place on the anime wall of fame.**

**Tanoshinde kudasai! – Please Enjoy!**

* * *

"I see... So she's coming back, you say?"

"..."

"Tomorrow?"

"..."

"Very well then. Thank you. I will make the necessary arrangements." The Headmaster sets down the phone. He hops off his chair, which he is too small for, and walks to a messy filing cabinet. He opens the bottom draw and extracts eight files. He climbs back onto his seat with difficulty. Once on his chair again he splays the files out in front of him on the desk.

On top of each file reads:

Jellal Fernandes

Mira Jane Strauss

Gajeel Redfox

Levy McGarden

Gray Fullbuster

Erza Scarlet

Natsu Dragneel

Lucy Heartfilia

He opens the last file.

"So she's coming back, hey?" The Master speaks aloud to himself "It's been a while since the old gang's been back together..."

Sunday. It's nearly the end of summer break. He'll be going back tomorrow. Natsu groans and flips over on to his stomach, his face pressing into his bed's mattress. He really hates school. He doesn't see the point of it. Most of the students are stuck up snobs. And the teachers are a bunch of know it all's who always try to stick their noses in his business. Natsu doesn't want to go back, but if he skips any more school the teachers would probably come prying again. Besides, Igneel has been nagging him enough already.

_Student Files:_

_Dragneel, Natsu_

_Age 16, High School_

_Rarely attends school. When he does, he is very quiet and unsociable, only talking to answer a question a teacher asks him. Sometimes gets into fights with other students for unknown reasons. Poor grades. May be to do with mother's death. _

"Natsu! I'm off to work!" His father, Igneel, calls from downstairs.

"Kay!" Natsu yells back, rolling out of bed and landing on his bedroom floor "Ooff!"

"Everything alright up there?!" Igneel shouts.

"Yeah!"

"Good." His father says before closing the front door behind him.

Natsu hears the door click, which means Igneel has left, and sighs. Natsu hates that Igneel has to go to work every day of the week, and works long hours. He would really like to spend more time with his dad. But that's the problem with Igneel being a single parent. Natsu's mother died almost seven years ago, which left his dad to take care of him and earn enough money for rent. Natsu would have helped his father and got a job, but Igneel insisted he kept up his studies.

Natsu grabs a t-shirt, jeans and underwear arbitrarily from his dresser and pulls them on, hopping around the rooms when putting on the underwear and jeans. He stumbles out of his room tugging socks over his bare feet and runs down the stairs to the kitchen. Natsu's favourite parts of the day are breakfast, lunch and dinner. And now it's breakfast. He hurries to the fridge and finds a sticky note from Igneel on the front. He pulls it off and stuffs it into his jean's pocket for safekeeping. He opens the fridge and pulls out A BOWL OF SPICEY RAMEN!

"Thanks Dad!" Natsu grinned at the bowl of one of his much-loved foods.

It's cold but that's nothing the microwave oven can't fix.

Natsu walks to the microwave and discovers another sticky note. He peals it from the oven's door and tucks it into his pocket. He unwraps the cling film covering the ramen and places the bowl in the microwave. He shuts the door and punches in some random numbers on the machine. The microwave makes a noise, the light turns on and his food begins to spin. Natsu gives a triumphant nod, confirming that 'He has mastered the microwave'.

He crosses his arms and walks to the cupboard where drinks and drink glasses are kept. He comes across another sticky note, which he also puts into his pocket. He opens the cupboard and finds that it is almost empty of cups. "They must all be in the dish washer..." Natsu tells himself "All that's here are those fancy glasses." Natsu shrugs and pulls a glass and fruit juice from the cupboard. "Dad won't mind if I use one." He pours out a drink for himself and sits down at the wooden table that is positioned in the middle of their kitchen/diner. He remembers the sticky notes and takes them out of his jean's pocket to get a better look at them.

_-Don't eat the spicy ramen!_

_I'm saving it for dinner as a special end of holidays treat for us,_

_Dad_

_-Don't use the microwave!_

_It's broken. If food is being heated in there for more than three minutes it will explode,_

_Dad_

_-Don't use my fancy glasses!_

_They're for special occasions; all the other glasses are being washed at the moment. If you're thirsty, have a water bottle from the fridge,_

_Dad_

Natsu's head slowly turns to the direction of the microwave. The timer shows 2minutes and 57seconds. "Oh Shi-" BOOM! Fire, smoke and spicy ramen erupts from the microwave. Bits of metal and ramen are flying everywhere. Natsu is taking cover under the table, flinging his glass of fruit juice from his hands. A few moments later Natsu remerges from the shelter of the table. He stands in the middle of his kitchen taking in the scene. All the cupboards, surfaces and himself are covered in ramen. The microwave oven is producing huge clouds of black smoke. Shattered glass and pieces of metal lay scattered on the floor. There's also a puddle of juice next to the door. Natsu sighs "Dad's gonna kill me."

Natsu trudges back up the stairs, has a shower, and puts on a new change of clothes. He sits on his bed drying his pink hair with a towel. Ding Dong! The doorbell? Natsu shouts down "Coming!" and then speeds from his room. Ding Dong! "Just a minute!" He rushes down the stairs skipping a few each leap. He reaches the door with the towel still draped around his neck and with damp hair. He pulls open the door and sees a girl holding a light blue umbrella, due to the current downpour outside and huge upside down map to her face.

Whilst turning the map this way and that she inquires "Excuse me, could you help me please? You see I'm terrible at map reading and-"

* * *

"_I'm terrible at map reading! We'll never find the __Sakura Tree__!" The small girl pouted, holding an upside down map."Natsu, help me please!"_

* * *

"-and there's somewhere I really have to find." Natsu shakes his head. Those memories... They've come back to me now. But there is something familiar about this girl. "You see I'm looking for a Sakura Tree but I don't know where the forest is, by any chance do you know where that is?" the girl continues, lowering the map that had been obstructing his view of her face.

Natsu feels tears welling up in his eyes. It's her. The salty liquid begins to run down his face, dripping off his chin. "Lucy." He flings himself at the blonde.

Her umbrella flies from her hands and lands at their feet. Her eyes widen at the boy clinging to her. "N-Natsu?"

"U-Un. It's me." Lucy lets out a small joyful sob at finding him. "I've missed you, Luce."

Lucy wraps her arms around Natsu "I've missed you too."

Natsu and Lucy hug for a while longer before Natsu breaks the hold "Come inside, you'll catch a cold out here."

Lucy nods, picks up her umbrella and follows Natsu into his house. He leads her into the kitchen where he immediately freezes. He forgot about the mess he had made earlier. Lucy stops too.

"I like what you've done with the place."

"Sorry." Natsu hangs his head. "I had an accident with the microwave."

"Same old Natsu." Lucy chuckles, taking one of the 'untouched by ramen' seats around the table.

Natsu smiles, glad Lucy is so happy. It was like the old days. He loves this nostalgic feeling.

"I didn't know you moved." says Lucy, looking around the room.

"Yeah... Well..." Natsu shrugs. He isn't going to tell her why he moved houses. He isn't going to tell her it was because his mother died. He decides to change the subject "What are you doing back in Magnolia? You didn't come all the way here just to see the Sakura Tree, did you?"

"No. I've come to study here." Lucy answers brightly "I'm going to be living in Magnolia again, isn't that great? I'll be able to see the old gang again! I'll be able to see Fairy Tail!"

The old gang... "That's why you wanted to go to the Sakura Tree..." Natsu growls.

"Yeah... Is something wrong Natsu?" Lucy asks, looking worriedly at her childhood friend.

"No. It's nothing." he answers quickly.

"Ok..." Lucy says hesitantly and then a though pops into her head "Ne, Natsu? Where's Sachiko and Igneel. I'd like to say hi."

"My dad's at work."

"What about your Mom then? I bet she's just the same as always." Lucy smiles.

"You can't see her." Natsu says bitterly.

"Why? Is she out?" says Lucy.

"No."

"Why then? Sachiko! It's me, Lucy!" Lucy called out, cupping her hands around her mouth and giggling.

"Stop that!" Natsu hisses, slapping Lucy's hands away from her mouth.

"Oiy!" Lucy pouts, still oblivious to Natsu's seriousness "Why can't I see your mum?"

"Because she's dead!" Natsu yells at Lucy.

Lucy gasps and raises her hands to her face. "She's dead...?" Lucy whispers "I'm so sorry. Natsu I-"

"Shut up." Natsu whimpers.

"Natsu please, I understand."

"How can you understand how I feel?!" Natsu shouts.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Natsu, but I do understa-" Lucy pleads.

"She's dead, you baka! She died seven years ago! Saying sorry won't help!" snaps Natsu.

* * *

"_She's dead, you baka!"_

* * *

"I'll leave you be then," Lucy says. Grasping her map, she walks to the kitchen door and stops. "I was right, you are the same old Natsu..." she smiles sadly and then exits, leaving the front door ajar.

"L-Lu-L" Natsu is struggling to form words. How could he be so stupid? "Lucy." Lucy's in exactly the same boat as him. "Lucy!" If not worse. He's the only baka. A baka for not remembering.

Natsu stands up and hurries to the front door, he looks down and see's her umbrella leaning against the wall. She'll get ill if she stays out in this weather. "Lucy!" he calls.

No answer.

Natsu steps out into the rain closing the door behind him. He opens up her umbrella and starts to run. "Lucy! Lucy!"

* * *

"_Lucy! Lucy! Wake up Luce!" Natsu called desperately, shaking the small blonde._

"_Eh? What is it Natsu?" Lucy said groggily, rubbing her eyes "Natsu my head hurts..."_

"_J-Just s-stay still Luce. Everything will be f-fine. Just don't sit up." Natsu stuttered, trying to hold back his sobs._

"_Huh? Natsu? What's happened? Why are you crying?" Lucy wiped the tears from Natsu's eyes."That's better." she smiled._

_Natsu continued to cry. "Don't look Luce. Don't." Lucy was confused normally Natsu would have cheered up by now._

"_Don't look?" She echoed. Look. "Don't look." Look. "Don't look." Look. Lucy sat up. Natsu tried to pull her back but she had already seen. Lucy screamed "Mama! Mama!" Natsu put his hands over Lucy's eyes, while keeping his tightly shut too. "Natsu! Let go! I need to see Mama! She hurt, the car hurt her! Mama!"_

"_No Lucy!" said Natsu._

"_I can heal her. Just let me-" Lucy begged._

"_She's dead, you baka!" Natsu screeched._

* * *

"Lucy! Lucy! I'm sorry!" Natsu leant against a lamppost, panting. He had ran around five blocks but still hasn't found her. Natsu thinks for a moment and then realises. He knows where she is. He starts to jog.

"I know the way." He huffed, breaking into a run.

* * *

"_I'm terrible at map reading! We'll never find the __Sakura Tree__!" The small girl pouted, holding an upside down map."Natsu, help me please!"_

"_You're not even holding it the right way." The boy giggled._

"_Oh..." The girl laughed in embarrassment "Sorry."_

"_I'll help Luce." Natsu declared._

"_Really?" Lucy gasped happily._

_Natsu nodded proudly "I know the way."_

"_Great!" Lucy beamed "Let's go quickly, we have to beat the other groups to the Tree. The first one there gets to name our gang. You don't want to lose to Gray, do you?"_

"_No! No way am I losing to nudey boy."_

_Lucy grabbed Natsu's hand and tugged on it "Let's go then." she giggled._

* * *

Natsu makes it off the streets and onto the forest path. Leaves crunch under foot. The rain patters against the top of Lucy's umbrella. He looks to his right and sees a small stream. He's close.

Natsu sees the huge old tree where he would spend his childhood and rushes forward. The tree's blossoms have already come and gone this year. They would have fallen a few months ago.

"Lucy." Natsu calls tentatively. He walks to the tree and peaks around the other side of the trunk. He can see their old secret fort up ahead and Lucy leaning against the bark. She's soaked. Her clothes and hair are plastered to her body and she's shivering slightly.

"Hi Natsu." She says.

The pink haired boy crouches next to her "I'm sorry Luce. I forgot that we're in the same situation. Your mom and my mom..."

"Yeah..." She says glumly "We're the same."

Natsu holds the umbrella over Lucy "I'm sorry I yelled. I'm sorry I forgot about you. Do you forgive me?"

Lucy nods and smiles "I forgive you Natsu." She takes the umbrella from him and holds it over both of their heads. "I acted the same when my mom died..."

"But still..."

"Don't worry. Sachiko and mom wouldn't want us to get caught up over them." Lucy tells Natsu.

"Yeah. There probably up in heaven having one of their tea parties." Natsu gives a small laugh.

"Do you still remember them?" Lucy grins.

"Of course I do." replies Natsu "We had one here once, didn't we?"

"Un... It was fun when we were all together. When I was here with Fairy Tail." Lucy points to the fort, the name 'Fairy Tail' engraved into the wood. "Hope you've all been keeping the secret base in good shape."

"Err... Yeah... We should be getting back. You'll catch a cold if you stay out in this." Natsu answers.

"Right." Lucy says, standing up.

They begin to walk back to town.

"Where you staying Luce?"

"Ē to... Uh, Well... I don't really have anywhere to stay yet..." Lucy explains, hanging her head in embarrassment.

"How about you stay at my house?" Natsu suggests.

"Really?!" Lucy exclaims "Thank you! Thank you! I won't be intruding will I? Will Igneel mind? Is it really alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Natsu laughs at Lucy "You haven't changed at all."

"But I have..." Natsu thinks.

"Thank you so much Natsu! I'll do chores and everything. I won't let you down!" Lucy continues to talk like this all the way back to Natsu's house. Natsu walks beside her, listening to her babble. He smiles. It's been a long time since anyone has talked to him like this. It was a good feeling.

"-I'll even buy you spicy foods! You still like spicy food, don't you? Of course you do. There was ramen all over your kitche-"

"Luce, we're here." Natsu interrupts Lucy's gibber, pointing up to his house.

"Oh."

Natsu leads Lucy into his house. He tells her to drop her stuff down by the door and follow him. He shows her around all the rooms in the house.

"-and here's the spare room. You can sleep in here if you want." Natsu suggests.

Lucy bounds into the room and spins on the spot to inspect the space. "Wow." she gasps "It's so clean... Not alike your room. Gross." Lucy screws up her face in disgust and sticks her tongue out at Natsu.

"Hey!"

"Bleh! I mean, just look at this." Lucy runs out of the spare room and into Natsu's. She remerges from the room holding a pair of boxer shorts by her forefinger and thumb, pinching her nose with her free hand "Ewww, Natsu! This must have been on the floor for about three weeks. Tidy away your underwear."

"Luce!" Natsu exclaims "Give those back!"

"Finders keepers, losers weepers!" Lucy teases "But who would want to keep these. Yuck!"

Natsu tries to snatch the underwear away from Lucy but she pulls them back out of his reach and scampers down the stairs. "Why have they got dragons on them, Natsu?" Lucy calls from downstairs, waving the boxers at the pink haired boy.

"Argh! You're so childish!" Natsu groans, following Lucy downstairs.

He gave chase to her, running around the house, in and out of rooms, attempting to get his underwear back. Finally he manages to pin her down to the floor in the hallway. "Surrender the pants now!" Natsu pants, trying to regain his breath.

"Never!" Lucy pouts stubbornly.

"Right, time for tickling." Natsu declares.

Lucy squirms when being tickled. "No...Natsu... Stop... it!" She laughs uncontrollably, barley able to speak.

"Tadaima!" Igneel stands immobile in the front door's frame. He stares at Natsu lying on top off Lucy who has his underwear clutched in her hands.

"Hi... Dad..." Natsu laughs nervously.

"NATSU YOU PERVERT!" Igneel kicks Natsu off of Lucy. "Bad! Bad Natsu!" Igneel scolds his son.

"I'm not a dog." Natsu groans rubbing his head.

"So you've been inviting young innocent women into the house while I've been at work! I thought better of you. Are you alright?" Igneel helps Lucy stand up. "Natsu, what have you been doing to this girl?"

"N-Nothing Dad, we were just-"

"Hi Igneel!" Lucy waves to the graying man. "You look well."

"Eh?" Igneel turns to Lucy, scrutinizing her "Oh! Lucy! I didn't realise it was you." Igneel exclaims happily, grasping Lucy's hands "Look at how tall you are! I remember when you were just a little girl. It's been so long."

"I know." Lucy smiles "How's your gardening coming along?"

"I'm afraid I can't do much gardening here. There's not much space in the backyard." Igneel sighs.

"That's a shame. You always grew the best carrots."

"Thank you, Lucy." He acknowledges the complement with glee.

"Oh, Igneel! I almost forgot. Natsu said I could stay here for a while, since I don't have anywhere else to go. Is that aright with you?"

"Did he now?" Igneel growls, scowling at Natsu. He points to his son. "You in the kitchen, now!"

"But dad th-" Natsu says.

"No buts!"

"Ok." He squeaks.

Igneel leads Lucy into the kitchen after Natsu. "Arrgh! What have you done to my kitchen?!" Igneel hollers.

"He He, about that... you see... erm... I used the spicy ramen, broke a fancy glass and exploded the microwave." Natsu says anxiously.

Igneel facepalms "The sticky notes Natsu! I left out sticky notes."

"Sorry... I didn't read them till after..."

"I should have known this would happen... Could you two sit down please?" Igneel sighs. Natsu and Lucy take seats opposite Igneel.

"Dad about Lucy staying here...?" Natsu inquires.

"Rejected."

"What?! But dad she doesn't have any where to stay!"

"I would have said yes until I found out you take advantage of chaste girls. Poor Lucy. She obviously doesn't have any idea what you were doing to her." They both look to Lucy who is humming to herself. "How could you taint something so pure?"

"I wasn't taking advantage of her! She stole underwear from my room and I was trying to get them back!" Natsu explains "Didn't you Luce?"

Lucy stops humming "Huh? Oh yeah, Natsu needs to clean his room. It's really dirty in there."

"Hmm... Well, if that's all, I suppose I can let Lucy stay..." Igneel agrees.

"Thank you!" Lucy says "I'll do lots of house work! I can cook, clean and whatever else needs doing!"

"That'd be a big help. Thank you, Lucy. Natsu you help clean too!"

"Hai." Natsu replies despondently.

"Yoshi! Come help me unpack my stuff Natsu." says Lucy.

"Hai."

* * *

**So what do you think of it so far?**

**The next chapter will show Nastu and Lucy going to school and you'll see how some characters have changed in the years Lucy has been away from Magnolia. If you don't like some of the characters personalities to start with don't worry because most will change as they spend more time around Lucy.**

**Note- Writing in italics will either be text/written/messages or flashback/past events. (The past events will have lines separating them).**

**Yonde kurete Arigatō... – Thanks for reading...**

**Sayōnara! - Bye!**


	2. Kettei

**When Lucy's mother dies in a car accident, she moves away from Magnolia. 10 years later she returns and will struggle to bring all her childhood friends back together again. But with Lucy so focused on others, she won't pay attention to her own problems...**

**This fanfic is inspired by the anime, AnoHana. Both AnoHana and Fairy Tail are two of my favourite animes out there. AnoHana gave me a new perspective on life and I thought the ending was beautiful. It was the first time I cried so much not for an injury. I was sobbing. And well... Fairy Tail... What can I say? I've laughed, I've cried... I've been egging on the characters in front of the screen. Both are masterpieces and in my opinion, deserve a place on the anime wall of fame.**

**Tanoshinde kudasai!**

* * *

"Natsu~ Natsu~ Natsu~" Lucy sings, jumping onto his bed and shaking the boy awake "Wakey, Wakey! Your dad's already gone to work!"

Natsu turns over onto his side facing away from Lucy.

"Time for school!" Lucy calls again.

"Five more minutes." Natsu grumbles, pulling the covers over his head.

Lucy capers off the bed and yanks the sheets off Natsu's body. He grasps at the air in search of his covers.

"Natsu, your wearing fire underwear to match those dragon ones you've got!" Lucy points to his flame patterned boxer shorts.

"Whoa!" Natsu falls out of bed. He looks up groggily and yelps "Lucy!" He attempts to cover his semi-naked body "What are you doing in here?" He asks in alarm.

"I made waffles!" Lucy beams proudly, hands behind her back and swinging back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"Oh, errm... Well done." Natsu praises her, unsure of how to answer the blonde's statement. "I'll come down and eat some then."

"No need!" Lucy withdraws a tray from behind his lamp, with a stack of blackened waffles covered in what might be syrup. He isn't sure.

Natsu remembers what Lucy's cooking used to be like...

* * *

"_What are these?" Natsu picked up one of the bolder-like cakes hesitantly._

"_I call them Yamu no yums!" Lucy said glowing in pride. "Try it. It's a type of cake."_

_Natsu had bitten into it and felt something crack near the back of his mouth, but they tasted surprisingly good._

"_CAKE!" Yelled a young red headed girl rushing to Lucy "Did I hear cake?!"_

"_Hai! Do you want some Erza? There's enough for everyone!" Lucy announced._

* * *

"Hmph! Erza. Everyone. What a joke." Natsu snorts inwardly. He takes a huge forkful of Lucy's waffles and shovels it into his mouth. "Ohhh! Slesh arg greash, Lushie." Natsu exclaims, with his mouthful.

"Thank you!" She giggles "I think ironing them really helped bring out the flavour."

"You ironed the waffles?" Natsu sweatdrops.

"Mmhm!" Lucy nods.

Natsu sighs and says while finishing his last piece of waffle "Thanks for the meal, but could you... err, scoot." Natsu waves his hands, signalling for Lucy to leave the room.

Lucy tilts her head to the side "Why?"

"Well... I need to get ready."

"Oh. Ok." Lucy walks out the room, waves and closes the door behind her.

"She's a real handful." Natsu sighs. He pulls on some casual clothes and walks out of his room and see's Lucy in the hall. She's standing next to a side table arranging some bright yellow flowers in a vase.

She turns around saying "Aren't these pretty?" and then gasps, wearing a cross expression "Why aren't you wearing your school uniform?"

"Well... I'm not going." Natsu shrugs.

"Nonsense! You have to go!" she reprimands him, with her hands on her hips "Go change! You have to come to school or I'll be all alone on my first day!"

"Wait! You're coming to my school!" Natsu's jaw drops.

"Yeah. I said I came here to study right?" She answers matter-of-factly "The only school in this town is Magnolia High/Elementary."

"Where's your uniform then?" Natsu asks. Lucy is in a white draped bodice top, with a Jewel neckline, along with a pink skirt and Bolero jacket. She has half her hair up in a ribbon, like normal. It suited her well and even Natsu had to admit she has gotten very pretty over the years.

"I have to collect it from the master."

"Oh..." he says.

"Now go change or I'll have to dress you myself!" She orders.

"T-That won't be necessary." Natsu stutters, running to his room and bolting the door behind him, with a pink tint to his cheeks.

Lucy shrugs and carries on flower arranging.

A few minutes later Natsu reappears from his room wearing full black Gakuran with white edging, buttoned up most of the way and sneakers.

He stands in front of Lucy, looks down at himself and says "I look like a prick."

"Hush now. Where's your tie?" Without waiting for an answer Lucy ventures into Natsu's room. She rummages through his draws, bedding and mess on the floor. Finally she finds it hanging on a peg in his wardrobe. There are two items of clothing hanging on the hook, one is the tie and the other is a white scaly scarf. "Hey, Natsu! I know why you look weird now!"

"Oh, thanks." he says sarcastically.

"You aren't wearing you're scarf." she continues, holding up the accessory.

"That old thing..." Natsu mumbles "I don't really wear t-that a-anymore..." Lucy walks to Natsu and drapes the scarf over his shoulders.

She smiles "That's better."

* * *

"_Huh? Natsu? What's happened? Why are you crying?" Lucy wiped the tears from Natsu's eyes."That's better." she smiled._

* * *

"W-What about t-the tie." he looks away, his face flushed red.

"It wouldn't look right for you to be wearing a tie, I'm sure no one at the school will mind." Lucy says, doing up the rest of his buttons for him, but she leaves one open at the top. She knows Natsu doesn't like suffocating clothes.

"Fine." he says, still averting his gaze from the blonde.

"We need to get going now or else we're going to be late." Lucy tells Natsu, making her way downstairs.

"Right..."

A little while later Natsu and Lucy leave the house. Because the school is so close to Natsu's house, they walk. Lucy's skips along the whole journey there, excited about her first day. But for Natsu it's the complete opposite. He is not looking forward to his first day back. He's worried how people will treat Lucy because she's with him and even more how the old Fairy Tail members will react when they see her.

At the school gates Lucy gasps "It's more amazing than I remember! Is it bigger?"

Natsu laughs "No. When you were here we entered through the Elementary access way. Now we go through the High School way."

"Wow! I'm finally a big kid!" Lucy exclaims.

"Not big kid, Luce. More like young adult." Natsu chuckles.

"Natsu?!"

"Yeah, what wrong?"

"Can you be my special tour guild today? Please don't abandon me." Lucy asks.

"Yeah, course. I'm not goanna run off and leave you." Natsu grins at her. Lucy smiles back. After all these years Natsu has seemed to have somewhat changed, he's still Natsu but there's something different... Lucy's glad she can still get that distinctive toothy grin out of him.

They walk past the gate and pass through the school yard. At first they are ignored, like usual for Natsu. But soon people start to whisper and point.

"Who's that girl with Natsu Dragneel?"

"She's kind 'a hot."

"Why would she be with him?"

"Do you think she's a new student?"

"Maybe, but where's her uniform?"

"Someone should tell her who's actually worth and not worth hanging out with."

Natsu growls and quickly pulls Lucy inside the school building. Lucy, completely unaware of the attention she had been attracting, is humming some unknown melody. How rude can people get? Natsu can put up with people talking and staring at him, but when they ogle Luce it's a different matter. He will have to protect her.

"Shall I take you to Gramps then?" Natsu enquires.

"Gramps?" Lucy looks at Natsu quizzically.

"Oh the master, he lets us call him Gramps if we want." he shrugs.

"Oh..." says Lucy "Yeah, let's go see Gramps then!"

When they arrive at the master's office, Lucy raps on his door.

"Come in." Lucy gives Natsu a quick glance. He nods to her, telling her to proceed. She opens the door.

"Were you always this small?! You seemed a lot taller when I was here before." Lucy exclaims upon seeing the master.

"Yes, hello to you too, Miss Heartfilia." the master sighs. Natsu's tries to muffle his laughter by biting on his fist. "And you two, Mr Dragneel." The master sends Natsu a harsh scowl.

Natsu coughs and stands up straight, still smirking slightly. "Sorry, Gramps."

"Right, Miss Heartfilia. Uniform and school schedule." The master says, jumping from his chair. He takes two bags and some sheets of paper out of a filling cabinet.

"Here you go." the master hands Lucy the items. "In the two bags are you are your normal uniform and sports kit and on the sheets there will be you time schedule, locker number, a map, all the important information will be on there."

Lucy bows "Thanks Gramps. I'll try my best here. I'll work really hard, I promise."

Lucy salutes and the old man chuckles "I have a feeling you'll fit right in."

"Really?" Lucy asks, eyes gleaming in awe. The master nods. "Yay!" Lucy punches her fist into the air in triumph.

"Oh, and Lucy..." The master gestures for Lucy to crouch at his level. He whispers something to her and she nods.

"Virgo managed to tell you everything then?" Lucy asks, her generally cheerful face serious.

"Yes. She called and told me the whole story. But Lucy," the master catches Lucy's wrist "Remember this may not be permanent. It can't last forever like this."

"I know." Lucy responds.

Natsu's head is buzzing with questions. Who's Virgo? Why did she have to talk to Gramps? What can't last? Natsu decides he would try and find out in time. He doesn't want to burden Lucy with lots of questions now, especially since it must be a very important secret for Lucy to be so solemn.

"Off you two go then." the master smiled.

"Hai, Gramps!" The two nod, exiting his office.

Before Natsu could leave the master calls him "Natsu."

"Hai." He turns to face the old man.

"About that scarf..." The master says. Natsu gulps. "You should wear it more often it suits you."

"Phew- I mean, Thanks Gramps." Natsu leaves the room.

Natsu and Lucy walk a little way and then stop outside an empty classroom.

"So what have you got first?" Natsu says, peeking over Lucy's shoulder at her time table.

"Hmmm... Maths." she answers after checking the paper.

"Same as me then."

"Yay! I'm in your classes Natsu!" Lucy celebrates, dancing on the spot.

"There were only two different classes you could be in since the year group's so small." Natsu sweatdrops.

"Yeah but I'm still glad Natsu, I get to be with you." Lucy says.

At this Natsu feels rather glad. "So you like spending time with me then?" he asks.

"Of course I do." she answers "Best friends forever!" Lucy holds up her little finger, a resolute expression on her face. Natsu looks between Lucy and her pinkie.

"Eh?"

"Do the pinkie promise." Lucy commands.

"No way! I'm not a girl!" Natsu refuses.

"Do it!" Lucy snarls, a dark aura surrounding her.

"Hai!" Natsu wraps his little finger around Lucy's and shakes. "Now can we go to class?"

"Yes~!" She smiles "Just let me go change first..."

"Sure."

Lucy walks into the empty classroom changes and then comes back out. "How do I look?" Lucy twirls around on the spot. She's wearing a sailor style uniform, consisting of a dark blue blouse and pleated skirt, with a white navy style neckerchief fastened by a small silver ring.

"Y-You look gr-great." Natsu stutters.

"Thanks Natsu." she smiles "Shall we go then?"

"Y-Yeah."

**Maths, Period 1...**

"Sorry we're late, Gildarts-Sensei." Natsu apologises to the teacher.

Gildarts is by far Natsu's favourite teacher. He is an old friend of Igneel, so he knows him well. Gildarts often goes to their house for Lunch at the weekends and when he was younger, Natsu would sometimes be looked after by him.

Gildarts smiles and tells him not to worry, and then he notices Lucy. Gildarts instantly recognises her as Natsu's friend who moved away a long time ago but asks anyway "Who's this?"

"A new student, Sensei." Natsu answers.

Gildarts motions for Natsu to sit down in his usual seat and then turns to Lucy. "Come up and introduce yourself to the class, tell them a bit about yourself."

"Hai, Sensei." Lucy turns to face the class and smiles "Hi everyone, my names Lucy. My hobbies are stargazing and writing. I also love to read. My favourite colour is blue. I've always wanted a dog. And once I accidently swallowed a gold fish." Lucy finishes happily.

Natsu facepalms. He looks around for people's reactions and sees they're smiling and waving back to Lucy. Natsu isn't surprised really. Lucy just has a way to make people like her instantly. Maybe it's because when you first meet her you feel an overwhelming feeling that you need to protect her. She always looks so fragile to Natsu, like just falling to the ground could shatter her into a million tiny pieces.

Natsu quickly searches the room, looking for a specific six people. He's looking for Fairy Tail.

He see's Jellal, Mira, Gajeel, Levy, Gray and Erza. He can see the shock on their faces. The tears in some of their eyes. Levy, Mira and Erza looked like they might just jump out of their seats and hug her to death. But once in a while he saw them giving him dirty looks. Was it because he was with Lucy when he came in? Probably.

Gildarts told Lucy she could sit anywhere she liked, so she immediately sat down next to Natsu, which earned him more dirty looks form Fairy Tail.

The lesson continued like this. Death glares for Natsu. People who sat near making polite conversation with Lucy. More death glares...

When the end off lesson bell rings, Natsu pulls Lucy up and hurries out of the class. "Why are we in such a hurry Natsu?" Lucy pants, being dragged behind Natsu.

"Oh, I just really wanted to get to our music lesson quickly." Natsu lies.

"We've got music? I love music!" Lucy bubbles.

"Yeah me too..."

**Lunch, after Period 2...**

Natsu has managed to get through the music lesson without anything but more scowling. He's relieved but knew this is just the calm before the storm.

Lucy and Natsu sit in the cafeteria, eating Lunch. Lucy is contentedly talking about today's lessons so far but Natsu has noticed a beautiful white haired girl marching towards them, with a not so beautiful expression on her face. Lucy notices too and squeals "Mira-Jane!" Lucy jumps up and hugs Mira, which Mira happily returns.

_Student Files:_

_Strauss, Mira-Jane_

_Age 16, High School_

_Current Cheerleading Captain. Gets good grades in all subjects. Well behaved. Seems popular with many students. _

"Lucy, I can't believe your back in Magnolia! When did you get here?" Mira beams.

"Just yesterday." Lucy smiles back.

"We have so much to talk about. Why don't you come and sit with me and the other cheerleaders?"

"Hai, come on Natsu." Lucy says, tugging on Natsu's sleeve.

"You can't bring him!" exclaims Mira.

Lucy looks confused "Why not?"

"Because..." she begins "Well... Don't worry Lucy. We can... We can catch up another time..." Mira turns and walks back to her friends, who her all giving her odd looks.

Lucy raises her hand limply and waves "Bye..."

Natsu sees Erza and Jellal over on the student council table. Erza stands.

"Come on, Luce." Natsu mutters "Follow me. We can't stay here."

Natsu escorts Lucy from the room. He heads towards the Library. Lucy is in some sort of a daze, the type of daze where her mind just shuts down because she can't comprehend the situation.

When they reach the Library, Natsu sits her down at a table on the seat opposite from himself. Lucy has seemed to have snapped out of her stupor. "Mira..." Lucy says, in deep thought.

"Lucy, can you wait here. I'll be just a minute." Natsu tells Lucy "Don't move, okay?"

"Yep." Lucy smiles, back to her normal self.

"Good." Natsu dashes from the table and to the book check-out desk. He sees who he's looking for almost immediately. "Levy!" he calls.

"Natsu?" she gasps, dropping the book she was reading.

_Student Files:_

_McGarden, Levy_

_Age 16, High School_

_Current assistant Librarian. Extremely polite and intelligent. Outstanding grades in all subjects. Has won awards in Maths, Literature and Science. Kind and helpful to teachers and students alike._

Levy is the only member of Fairy Tail Natsu is still on good terms with. All the others barley acknowledge his existence. Sometimes he will ask Levy for study help or talk with her just to feel not so lonely. But he doesn't seek her out often. He knows if anyone sees Levy with him her school life would become as tough as his.

"Levy, Lucy's here!" Natsu tells the small bluenette.

"Lucy?!"

"Yeah, she's over here." Natsu answers, directing Levy to where he left Lucy.

They find Lucy reading a book on astronomy. "Lu-chan?" Levy calls.

"Hm?" Lucy looks up, stares at Levy for a moment and then says uncertainly "Levy-chan?"

Levy smiles "Yep, it's me."

"Levy-chan!" Lucy bear hugs Levy, choking the petite girl.

Lucy let's go. "Hi, Lu-chan." Levy wheezes, rubbing her throat.

"You've gotten do pretty!"

"Thanks." Levy giggles "Same to you."

"Errm..." Natsu says, hinting the importance that they talk now.

"Oh, Right." Levy says, taking a seat. "Natsu what wrong? Has something happened?"

"It's already started. Mira's been the first one. And I don't want Lucy to get hurt by getting caught up in this."

"I see..." says levy "I think we need to tell Lu-chan what's happened..."

"But-"

"-What's happened? Is it to do with Mira? Is she ok?" Lucy asks, distressed.

"Fine." Natsu agrees "Just try not to upset her too much?"

Levy nods and turns to Lucy "It's about Fairy Tail, Lu-chan."

"What's wrong with Fairy Tail?"

"When you left, everyone was upset. They were sad you were gone. And then it got worse, some horrible things happened to some of the members..."

* * *

"_Mira-Jane Strauss."_

"_Hai." The young blue eyed girl stood up from her desk._

"_Could you come with me please?" A man in a dark suit stood in the doorway to the class "Your brother is already waiting outside."_

"_What's happened?" Mira asked in alarm._

"_You need to visit your sister in hospital, quickly!"_

* * *

"And after these things happened..." Levy continued "The group just couldn't cope anymore and we all drifted away from each other. Most of us aren't friends anymore..."

"No!"

"Huh?" Levy and Natsu look at Lucy in surprise.

"'No' what?" Natsu asks.

"'No' you will be friends again!" Lucy answered with an air of indomitableness.

"Eh?"

"I'm going to bring Fairy Tail back together!" Lucy declares.

"Lu-chan! It's impossible!" says Levy "The others, I'm sure they hate us."

Lucy grins "Nothing's impossible."

"Luce..." Natsu sighs.

"And you're going to help me!" Lucy places her hands on Natsu and Levy's shoulders.

"Nani?!"

* * *

**And that concludes my second chapter!**

**You may all be wondering "Why is Lucy acting so smiley?" Well there's a reason for it, which you will later find out.**

**Now to answer people's reviews…**

* * *

**Iloveallanime16****: Glad you like it.**

**Guest: Thank you!**

**Fairy x Hunter: I'm relieved. People actually find this interesting :D**

**ixburnout: Yeah, he would have dragon underwear. And well done, your prediction was correct.**

**GoldenRoseTanya: You flatter me ^.^**

**animeflower107: It's great to hear you like it so much, I hopefully have the next chapter done soon.**

**ClumsyMustache: If Lucy was dead it would just make me too sad, I wouldn't be able to write it.**

**AnimeLover4LifeXD: Thanks, I was aiming for original.**

**KaUiA: ****Arigatō**

**DarkXFeatheredCosmic: I'm on a writing roll at the moment so I'll update quickly considering these first two chapters are all over 3,000 words. So much effort...**

**NatsuxLucy4ever: It was a sad chapter for me too but I did have fun with the underwear scene.**

* * *

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**Yonde kurete Arigatō…**

**Sayōnara!**


	3. Kēkishoppu Nichiyōbi

**When Lucy's mother dies in a car accident, she moves away from Magnolia. 10 years later she returns and will struggle to bring all her childhood friends back together again. But with Lucy so focused on others, she won't pay attention to her own problems...**

**This fanfic is inspired by the anime, AnoHana. Both AnoHana and Fairy Tail are two of my favourite animes out there. AnoHana gave me a new perspective on life and I thought the ending was beautiful. It was the first time I cried so much not for an injury. I was sobbing. And well... Fairy Tail... What can I say? I've laughed, I've cried... I've been egging on the characters in front of the screen. Both are masterpieces and in my opinion, deserve a place on the anime wall of fame.**

**Tanoshinde kudasai!**

* * *

Erza stands outside the school gates. She taps her foot impatiently and frequently checks her watch.

Late. Jellal's late.

She sighs, remembering today's events. Lucy has come back. She seems the same as always, smiley, friendly; she even still retains some of her juvenile qualities. And she's gotten a lot prettier. Golden shoulder length hair, fair skin, chocolate coloured eyes. She and Mira were always the lucky ones. They were and are still beautiful. Erza, who has bizarre red hair that looks as if she has died it in tined tomato juice and glasses that sit upon the bridge of her nose...She could never compare.

Lucy... Now you're here you're going to get caught up in this stupid feud. Stay out of it Lucy. Stay away from us...

_Student Files:_

_Scarlet, Erza_

_Age 16, High School_

_Current Vice-Student Council President. Hard working and strictly follows school rules. Excellent grades. Although she seems to have natural leadership skills and dedication, whenever offered the top spots she will shy away._

Erza looks over to where a group of giggling girls stand, Mira in their midst. The red head growls and turns away, facing the school yard. Not unnoticed by Mira. In the new direction Erza looks, she sees Jellal strolling towards her, hands in his pockets. Jellal spots her and gives her a slight nod and casual smile.

Erza snorts in derision and spins on her heel, walking away. Jellal rushes to catch her up. "Hey Erza! Erza! What's wrong? You're acting different from usual." he asks just as he reaches Erza's side.

"I'm not acting different. Don't I always treat you like this?" Erza says indifferently, not even sparing a glance for the azure haired boy.

"Yes," Jellal answers "but what I mean is you're acting even more cantankerous towards me today."

_Student Files:_

_Fernandes, Jellal_

_Age 16, High School_

_Current Student Council President. Exceptional grades. Charming, polite and academic. Seems a popular choice as Council President. Many students are in support with his lead and principles._

"I don't have to wait for you, you know." she snaps, halting in her tracks "while you're off meeting your Fan Girls I could be home already. I only hang around with you all the time because you begged."

"It's about Lucy, isn't it?" Jellal says softly, ignoring Erza's comment.

She doesn't reply.

Jellal continues "I think we should make sure Lucy understands the current situation, and understand whose side she should be on. If we just talk to-"

"-Don't bring Lucy into this." Erza spits, glaring at him in disgust "It should be her choice whose friends she wants to be and we should respect that decision. She shouldn't even be involved in this fight." Jellal stands listening to Erza's invective stunned. Erza is always giving him the cold shoulder, but she has never had such malice in her tone. She grabs his collar and pulls his face close to her own. "Don't you dare drag her into this! Leave Lucy be." Erza pushes him away from her. He stumbles back and lands on the ground. Erza leaves.

Some girls from Mira's crowd see Jellal on the floor and rush to his aid. They are some of his many fan girls. "Are you hurt?"

"Should we take you to the infirmary?"

"Let us help you up."

Jellal shakes his head and waves the eager girls off. He stands, brushes himself off, and walks a different route to the way Erza went. He knows it would be unwise to bother her now.

Mira is perplexed. She had seen the whole argument between Erza and Jellal. Although she couldn't hear everything, she could tell Erza was angry. No, furious. She had thought those two were still friends. But after that... Mira isn't too sure anymore.

* * *

"_Scarlet...The colour of your hair."_

* * *

Erza storms down the street, fuming at Jellal.

"How dare he?! How dare he?!" She thinks to herself, whilst passing the cake store.

Cake store? Erza stops and inhales deeply. She can smell various chocolates, fruits and spices. And the strawberries and cream... Her mouth waters. Maybe she'll just have a little bit of cake; it might cheer her up...

* * *

"_CAKE!" Yelled a young red headed girl rushing to Lucy "Did I hear cake?!"_

"_Hai! Do you want some Erza? There's enough for everyone!" Lucy announced._

* * *

Lucy giggled at the memory, prancing along the pavement.

"Lu-chan, where are we going?" Levy pants, having to take long strides to keep up with Lucy's skipping.

Lucy giggles again "It's a secret."

Natsu is managing to keep up. "You said it's important, right Luce?"

"Oh, yes. It's very important."

Natsu and Levy exchange a quick glance and then continue to follow the bubbly blonde down the high street.

A while later Lucy comes to a standstill in front of a highly decorated shop. The sign read _Katie's Cake Shop_.

"Luce... "Natsu asks slowly "Why are we here?"

"Oh I just felt like a bite to eat." Lucy replies, a huge smile adorning her face.

Lucy's two friends looked at her suspiciously but never the less follow her into the shop.

Inside the shop the walls are painted in pinks and creams and there are a number of booths to sit at. The counter where you pay is filled with an assortment of many cakes. Chocolate, vanilla, iced, sponge, cupcakes, muffins... There are even some large four-tier ones.

Lucy spots the booth she wants to sit at almost immediately and makes her way over. At the booth, its table is piled sky-high with countless different cakes, the percentage of them various strawberry cakes. Lucy coughs. "Excuse me, but may we sit here please?" she asks.

Levy and Natsu are bewildered. It looks to them as if Lucy is talking to one very large and extremely frosted cake. But shocking them even more, a scarlet haired girl emerges from behind the pile of cake, mouth stuffed to the brim and teary-eyed. The girl quickly wipes her eyes, swallows her food and stammers "L-Lucy!"

"Hi Erza!" Lucy greets her brightly. "Can we...?" Lucy motions to the seats.

"Errr, s-sure. Go ahead."

"Thanks." Lucy sits down, pulling Natsu and Levy with her.

Erza looks down and continues to eat her cake. A waitress walks to their table. She asks if they want something to eat or drink.

"Hot Chocolate, please." Lucy smiles.

"Errm, same." Natsu answers.

"Me two, please." Levy says quietly.

The waitress leaves to get the order.

Everyone is silent. No one speaks, but Lucy continues to grin, studying the room.

"It's lovely here, isn't it?" she says, looking to Erza "I remember when we all used to come here because of you, Erza." Erza looks up. Lucy continues "You would be so exited whenever cake was even mentioned. We took you here once and you wanted to come back all the time. That was when Natsu decided we would have Cake Shop Sunday, do you remember?" Natsu raises his head too. "Everyone in Fairy Tail thought it was amazing how much you loved cake. Levy even made a special piggy bank that we could save money in for you to eat cake." Levy's eyes widen. "It always made you happy right? If you were sad you would come here anyway, even if it wasn't Cake Shop Sunday. So why are you here now, Erza?"

"I-I-I..." Erza stutters.

"I think it's because you're sad." Lucy says "What's wrong?"

"Here's your hot chocolates!" the waitress announced, holding a tray with their drinks on.

"Thank you."

The waitress leaves the table and Erza says "I've got to go." She slaps some money down on the counter, grabs as many of her cakes that she can carry and hurries from the store.

Once the door's bell tinkles Lucy states "I've decided we'll target Erza first."

"Luce, what do you mean?" Natsu says.

"We're going to help Erza back into Fairy Tail first."

"Lu-chan..." Levy whispers "It isn't that simple..."

"Huh? I don't get it." Lucy tilts her head to one side.

"It's about her status and Jellal..." says Natsu.

"To bring her back would just be... awkward." Levy explains.

"How so?"

"Erza is the Vise-President of the Student Council, she can't be seen with us. If she were to be spotted she might be voted out of the Council. And the school needs Erza in the council." Levy leans in towards Lucy and whispers "I don't think many people realise it but Erza is probably the only one in the whole Student Council who makes valid decisions. I'm sure if Erza wasn't there to influence Jellal and the rest, the school would be in shambles. Erza can't be voted out, for the sake of everyone."

"And also," Natsu growls "Jellal would hate for Erza to be with us. He'd make it a very hard life for us all if we were around her."

"But that's just how things go at our school." Levy sighs "Everyone follows the popular crowds. That's how Natsu got hated so much in school. The quarrel Fairy Tail had...just because of that, when Mira, Gray and Jellal all outrightly showed their hatred towards us... People took sides, but only with anyone they feel is worth supporting."

"That's mean of them." Lucy pouts "They weren't like that before."

"Everyone's changed, Lu-chan."

"You're both the same."

Levy and Natsu look down. They know they have changed, along with the rest. But they won't be able to get Lucy to understand. She sees what she wants to see. She lives in her own little world. She lives in the past...

...

Lucy and Natsu are walking back home. Levy had left them a while back saying she had homework to complete.

They reach Natsu's house and open the front door. "Tadaima." Natsu called to no one in particular.

"Welcome back~!"

"Holy shit!" Natsu jumps back and grabs Lucy's umbrella that lent against the wall. "Who's there?!"

Then a horrifying sight steps out in front of them.

"Hi guys! I was let out of work early, isn't that great?!" Igneel exclaims, brandishing a spatula. Igneel is wearing flame design underwear, with nothing covering his chest but a small, pink, frilly apron that read _I am the Kitchen Bitch_.

"Oh god, Dad! Put something on!" Natsu yells, whilst covering Lucy's eyes.

"But I have got something on." says Igneel, pinching the straps of his apron and doing a pose. "And you have to admit, I look good."

"No! Defiantly not good, Dad! And wait are they...MY UNDERWEAR?!"

"Oh are they yours?" Igneel asks, posing again.

"YES THEY ARE!" Natsu bellows.

"Do you want them back; I can give them to you now if you like." Igneel says, beginning to lower the boxers.

"NO!" Natsu stops him and pushes Lucy down onto the floor. "No, Dad. Just... Just keep them."

"Ok." Igneel shrugs and returns to the kitchen.

"Moss waz dap abown?" Lucy's face is pressed into the floor.

"Luce!" Natsu exclaims, helping the poor blonde up. "I'm sorry about that... What did you say?"

"I said, what was that about?"

"Oh..." Natsu sweatdrops "You don't need to know..."

...

Erza sits on the bed in her room, back against the wall and her body hunched up in a ball shape. She has a plate of cakes next to her and is getting through them quickly. Soon the pile was down to one. Erza sighs and pops it into her mouth.

Erza lives alone. She had been a foster daughter of a lovely couple but they only agreed to keep her until she was sixteen. Apparently the age she could cope alone. "You have to be independent now. You can't rely on others." her social worker had said. And that's when the orphaned child had been thrown out onto the streets. She had been given enough money to buy a place, and for food, but it was nice not having to scrimp and save money when she was with her foster parents. She is just scraping by on a single income. She works as a part-time lifeguard at Magnolia Leisure Centre. She has a stressful life. School, work, council duties, Jellal...

Jellal!

"Baka!" she says, throwing her pillow at the opposite wall. "Jellal's a baka, I'm a baka, Lucy's a baka!"

Erza kneels on her mattress. Her arms are resting upon the surface and hands clenched in fists. "Why couldn't I answer her?"

"_It always made you happy right? If you were sad you would come here anyway, even if it wasn't Cake Shop Sunday. So why are you here now, Erza?"_

"_I-I-I..." Erza stuttered._

"_I think it's because you're sad." Lucy said "What's wrong?"_

"WHY?! Why couldn't I answer?! I should have just told her everything!" Erza stands up "Lucy, I'm sad because of us, because of Fairy Tail, because of Jellal..." then she flops back down and sighs "If only I could tell her that..."

* * *

**Just when I thought I couldn't get any more jokes out of Natsu's underwear *insert happy sigh here* Fun times, Fun Times.**

**I'm so sorry for calling Erza ugly. She completely isn't. (Please don't kill me Erza) It was just how Erza thought of herself in the story. I actually think Erza is one of the prettiest characters in Fairy Tail. Love her hair! It's awesome!**

**Now to answer people's reviews…**

* * *

**DarkXFeatheredCosmic: I tried to explain the 'Everybody hates Natsu' thing in this chapter. If you're still not sure what I mean just say and thank you for appreciating my effort!**

**Iloveallanime16: Same as I said to ****DarkXFeatheredCosmic, hope you understand it.**

**Sourcherry96****: Thanks for the review, making it into a real world situation has let me create new profiles and back-stories for everyone, which I enjoy doing. A lot.**

**Loverz: I will continue :D**

**GoldenRoseTanya: Whooooooohoo! Thank you again for another review. I hope this chapter has lived up to you expectations.**

**AnimeLover4LifeXD: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I'll try =)**

**Fairy x Hunter: Since you liked the other underwear scene, I added one into this chapter. I'm not sure there'll be another one though, the jokes kind'a run its course...**

* * *

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**Yonde kurete Arigatō…**

**Sayōnara!**


	4. Arubaito

**Haru no Hana**

**They were all childhood friends. They made up a group called Fairy Tail. They were always together. But when Lucy's mother dies in a car accident, she moves away from Magnolia. Without Lucy the members of Fairy Tail begin to drift apart. When Lucy returns, in her teenage years, she will struggle to bring them together again.**

**This fanfic is inspired by the anime, AnoHana. Both AnoHana and Fairy Tail are two of my favourite animes out there. AnoHana gave me a new perspective on life and I thought the ending was beautiful. It was the first time I cried so much not for an injury. I was sobbing. And well... Fairy Tail... What can I say? I've laughed, I've cried... I've been egging on the characters in front of the screen. Both are masterpieces and in my opinion, deserve a place on the anime wall of fame.**

**Tanoshinde kudasai! – Please Enjoy!**

* * *

It is now Thursday. Lucy has been attending Magnolia High for four days and four days since her, Natsu and Levy's encounter with Erza.

Lucy seems to be enjoying her time at school, even more so now that Levy has started hanging around with her and Natsu. Natsu had tried to dissuade her from being so candidly friendly with them, more importantly him. He doesn't want Levy to become beleaguered because of him. However Levy insisted that she stick with them.

Natsu lies on his bed, staring up at his room's ceiling. He is thinking about recent events...

Lucy has been acting weirdly ever since yesterday, third period. She has been smiling and giggling ever since then. And sometimes Natsu could swear he saw a mischievous glint in her eye. What is she up to?

...

"Igneel," Lucy says, standing in the doorway to the kitchen, where the middle-aged man sits eating the same spicy food Natsu likes. Father like son fits the situation well... "I want to help more."

"You've already done quite enough, my dear." Igneel smiles between mouthfuls of food. "You needn't do any more house work at the moment. This place is the cleanest it's been in years."

"No. I want to help with money. I want to get a part-time job." Lucy says resolutely, determination written all over her face. She wants this and is not going to give it up without a fight.

"Lucy, you don't need to work for us. We're fine as we are, we don't need any more money." The microwave makes a clattering noise and starts to smoke again. "Ok, maybe we do, but we can manage."

"Please, Igneel." Lucy requests, joining him at the table. "I already know the place I want to work, Katie's cake shop. I heard they need some more waitresses since the ones they previously had have gone on maternity leave. They've already told me I can start straight away if I want to. Apart from it getting more money for us, it'll be fun."

Igneel starts to pick at his food, obviously thinking it through. A few moments later he says "Alright. But you can't let us have all the money, use some on yourself too."

Lucy grins and hurries round the over side of the table to give Igneel a quick hug. "Thank you! Thank you! You won't regret this! I'll earn lots of money!" She then speeds from the room, grabbing a jacket and her bag. It's only just after school. She can start her shift right away. Lucy opens the front door and calls out to the house at large "I'm off to work!"

"What?!" Lucy can hear Natsu exclaim from upstairs. Igneel chuckles.

"See you later!" She closes the door behind her and smiles. "I'll be seeing you in a minute, Erza."

* * *

_Lucy sat in third period geography class next to Levy and Natsu on a square table. They were doing map work and Levy was struggling to get Natsu to understand it._

"_No Natsu, you go along then up the map." Levy said, slightly exasperated._

"_I still don't understand~" Natsu whined, slamming his head on the table._

_Lucy laughed at Natsu for a moment but stopped as she heard some familiar voices behind her._

_It was Erza and Jellal. They were sitting on a nearby table talking in low voices._

"_What's wrong with you, Erza? You seem to be really depressed." Jella asked, taking her worksheet._

"_Why should you care?!" Erza hissed, snatching it back._

"_I was only asking a question. No need to get so worked up over it."_

"_Fine. You want to know?!" Erza snapped "I was laid off. I no longer have my job at the leisure centre. Apparently since they have more reliable staff who works full-time, they no longer need me."_

"_Oh, really?" Jellal smiled shrewdly "So you need another job?"_

"_Yes. What of it?" Erza said coldly._

"_I just so happen to know a place that need more part-time staff. Here." Jellal placed a staff request poster in front of her._

_Erza gasped as she saw the sheet. It was a poster for Katie's Cake Shop, Erza's most favourite place in the world. She smiled and picked up the poster. She could work at Katie's Cake Shop!_

_But then her eyes narrowed. She lowered the paper and turned to Jellal. "You already knew I lost my job! You planed this!" Jellal smirked as Erza realized what he had done. "Well, if you plan to win my favour by giving me this, forget it! I'm taking the job. But don't think for a second you're going to get a thank you!"_

* * *

"Thanks Katie." Lucy says as the owner of Katie's cake shop hands her a uniform.

Katie is a middle aged woman, with a care worn face. Her brown hair is kept up in a high ponytail, with a few strands of lose hair hanging by her face. She doesn't look a lot different from when Lucy used to come to her shop with Fairy Tail, apart from the age difference. Her personality is still the same too. She's kind, lively and especially affectionate towards her and Erza, who she had always doted on because of their love of cakes.

"I'll work really hard!" Lucy salutes Katie just like she did for the master on her first day of school.

Katie giggles "I'm counting on you then."

"I won't let you down!" Lucy nods keenly.

"Ok, just go put that uniform on then and I'll tell you what to do afterwards, sweetie." Katie tells Lucy.

"Hai." Lucy goes to the staff changing room and puts on the uniform. Before exiting the room, Lucy looks in the long mirror propped up against the wall. She sees the uniform. It entails a simple white one-piece dress, which reaches just above the knees. It has an off the shoulder neck line and wide black belt that buckles around the waist. **(A/N Don't worry, I didn't put her in a maid costume. I'm not that mean.)**

Lucy straightens the dress and smoothes out the creases before walking back out. She sees Katie and waves.

Katie claps her hands together, eyes sparkling and exclaims "Sweetie, you look fantastic! Give me a twirl."

Lucy obliges and spins around on the spot a few times.

"Lovely. Now, it's my policy here for the newbie to teach the new newbie. That means Erza will be teaching you everything you need to know about my shop. She's only been here yesterday and today but has already settled in so well. I think you'll be the same. You and Erza were always cake enthusiasts like me!" Katie grins.

"Where is Erza?" Lucy asks. When looking around the shop she couldn't see the head of scarlet hair anywhere.

"Oh she's picking up some groceries right now; she should be back any time." They hear the door bell jingle and see a red head carrying a huge box of fruits walk into the cafe. "Speak of the devil! Erza, look! It's Lucy. She's the newest member of Katie's Cake Shop."

Erza froze on the spot. Her eyes were wide, her mouth was open in shock and beads of sweat begin to run down her forehead.

"Lucy's here?!" Erza thought in a panic. "What do I do?! What do I do?!"

"Is everything alright, sweetie?" Katie looks at Erza's troubled face and walks over to her. "You look a bit clammy... Are you sure you're not ill?"

"N-No, I-I'm-m p-perfectly fi-fine." Erza stutters. She places the box of fruits on the shop's counter.

"That's good." Katie sighs in relief "I'll need you to teach Lucy the tools of the trade. Do you think you can do that sweetie?"

Erza knows she can't say no. Not after everything Katie has done for her. "S-Sure..."

"Great, I'll be leaving you in Erza's hands now Lucy. Try your best." Katie says, before walking to the kitchen to bake.

"I will!" Lucy calls as she leaves and then turns to Erza beaming "What's first?"

"Errm... I s-suppose teaching y-you how to use the cash register..." Erza stares down at the floor; she doesn't want to look Lucy in the eye.

"Yoshi! I will master the cash register!" Lucy pumps her fist in the air and skips to the cash register.

Erza can't help but chuckle slightly at her. Lucy hears and her smile grows wider.

* * *

_"I'm going to bring Fairy Tail back together!" Lucy declared._

_"Lu-chan! It's impossible!" said Levy "The others, I'm sure they hate us."_

_Lucy grinned "Nothing's impossible."_

* * *

Lucy stands at the cash register next to Erza. They are both in silent hysterics at a customer who had fallen out of his booth. Erza wipes away a few tears from her eyes and smiles at Lucy.

Lucy felt a small spark of hope ignite within her and thinks "Nothing's impossible. I will, I swear I will bring Fairy Tail back together!"

* * *

**Sorry about not updating in a while…**

**Really this is just a small chapter to keep you entertained until I can actually get my head around to writing a big one.**

**Now to answer reviews…**

* * *

**Iloveallanime16: I think so too. Don't worry she'll be happy soon.**

**CupcakeGirl633****: Thanks :)**

**Disappear500: Thank you for pointing that out. I would have gone on writing the wrong thing forever otherwise…**

**GoldenRoseTanya****: Thank you XD**

**MelodyKey****: Wowe! I love lot of questions and now I'm going to answer them…**

**-I don't actually know a lot of Japanese. But I have a friend who moved out there a while ago. She's not that great at the language yet, so sorry if there are any mistakes.**

**-Thank you for the Jellal thing too.**

**-Your pretty much right about what they all are.**

**-And in this Mira is the same age as the people in Fairy Tail, but Lisanna and Elfman are younger so they'll be in different years to them. Also I did mention Elfman (not by name) in a flashback.**

**-I don't actually mean living in the past exactly, it's more like… because everyone seems to think they've changed they think Lucy is seeing them as their past selves but in reality they haven't changed as much as they think.**

**-Yeah, I wasn't really sure how to describe her personality but I think honest fits the bill. She's the smiley type or is she just acting smiley…**

**Arigatō**

**Fairy x Hunter****: If I can I will try to put in another underwear joke. I'm not really sure how though…**

* * *

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**Yonde kurete Arigatō…**

**Sayōnara!**


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